This new event gives friends and family, coworkers, clubs, schools, offices, and anyone else who is interested, a chance to show their imagination and creativity while making memories that will last a lifetime. The challenge is to design, build, and race a human-powered, 100-percent corrugated cardboard boat on a course on the St. Joseph River. Boast registration fees begin at $25 and range from 1- to 10-passenger crafts.

The IPFW Cardboard Regatta celebrates imagination, creativity, and teamwork, as well as the mission of IPFW RiverFest: to preserve, protect, and promote Fort Wayne’s rivers by raising awareness through education and fun.

If you’re not sure how to build a cardboard boat, the Alumni Association and the Department of Engineering are holding two “How to Build a Cardboard Boat” workshops Wednesday, May 1, and Monday, May 13, from 7 to 8 p.m. at the IPFW Alumni Center, located on IPFW’s west campus at 1528 E. California Road, across from the Holiday Inn at IPFW and the Coliseum. Both workshops are free and open to the public.

Additional sponsors of the IPFW Cardboard Regatta are Diskey Architectural Signage, IPFW RiverFest, PHP, and the northeast chapter of the Indiana University Alumni Association.